{"id":3534,"date":"2012-03-20T08:02:18","date_gmt":"2012-03-20T13:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=3534"},"modified":"2012-03-13T08:44:03","modified_gmt":"2012-03-13T13:44:03","slug":"3534","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/3534\/","title":{"rendered":"March 25, 2012, Shiny and New!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Warm-up Question<\/h3>\n<p>Have you ever been one of the first to purchase a brand new product; \u00a0have you watched a TV show or movie before it was officially released?\u00a0 What excited you?<\/p>\n<h3>Shiny and New!<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_3551\" style=\"width: 185px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2012\/03\/shutterstock_32507527edit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3551\" class=\"size-full wp-image-3551 \" style=\"margin: 5px\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2012\/03\/shutterstock_32507527edit.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"175\" height=\"186\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-3551\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">photo by Katherine Welles \/ Shutterstock.com<\/p><\/div>\n<p>There is just something about Apple products, isn\u2019t there?\u00a0 Whenever a new iPhone or iPad is announced, millions of people all over the world begin anticipating its arrival.\u00a0 The more recent version of the iPhone \u2013 the 4S model \u2013 is no exception.\u00a0 During the three days following its launch, over 4 million iPhones were sold.\u00a0 That\u2019s over twice as many as were sold for the launch of the original iPhone 4.\u00a0 In the weeks that followed, many stores had to use a reservation system, requiring customers to reserve their phones a day or more in advance.\u00a0 There weren\u2019t enough to go around!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What do you think made the iPhone 4S such a high-demand item?<\/li>\n<li>Would you be willing to travel and wait in line to get a new, state-of-the-art phone, video game, or other tech toy?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, March 25, 2012 (Fifth Sunday in Lent)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=198576226\">\u00a0Jeremiah 31:31-34<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=198576255\">Hebrews 5:5-10<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=198576289\">John 12:20-33<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elca.org\/Growing-In-Faith\/Worship\/Lectionary.aspx\">Lectionary Readings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Gospel Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>John\u2019s story of Jesus\u2019 ministry reaches a climactic point in today\u2019s gospel reading.\u00a0 This passage tells the story of the pivotal moment when Jesus\u2019 message of the love of God becomes a message to the entire world.\u00a0 To fully understand the meaning of this moment, we ought to break it down and consider each part in turn.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWe wish to see Jesus\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>For Jesus (and for Paul after him), an important part of God\u2019s love was that it is open to all people, everywhere.\u00a0 In this passage, we see that Jesus\u2019 ministry has awed so many people, that news of his preaching and healing has reached partway around the Mediterranean to Greece.\u00a0 These Greeks have traveled hundreds of miles to the Temple in Jerusalem, and the most important thing to them is to meet this miraculous, loving Jesus.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The visit by these Greeks is certainly an amazing thing for the disciples to see.\u00a0 How amazing that people from so far away are traveling to see one man!\u00a0 For Jesus, however, this is a sign of something more.\u00a0 The arrival of these Greeks shows that the time of his ministry is complete.\u00a0 Jesus has spread the word of God and has told the people what they must do to show their devotion to God.\u00a0 He has told the people that God calls his people to care for \u201cthe least of these\u201d \u2013 those whom society has all but forgotten.\u00a0 And he has showed the people what it is to be truly holy \u2013 forgiving, loving, and healing, even when others thought it impossible.<\/p>\n<p>Now, however, the second part of Jesus\u2019 mission begins.\u00a0 It is time for Jesus to show the world the true glory of God by not only giving himself over to die for the sins of the world, but by defeating death, rising again and guiding his people to eternal life in God.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThose who love their life lose it, and those who hate their life in this world will keep it for an eternal life.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>As Jesus prepares to make this sacrifice, he calls God\u2019s people to make their own kind of sacrifice.\u00a0 If we are attached to our own \u201clives\u201d \u2013 our wants, our desires, our comfort \u2013 then we are doomed to lose them.\u00a0 Instead, we are called to view these things as secondary to something much more important: our commission from God.\u00a0 We are called to lay our own selfish desires aside and act as Jesus taught us, looking after the poor, the weak, and the oppressed, and bringing the message of God\u2019s love to the world.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cWhoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Jesus\u2019 call for us to lay our own desires aside is hard, but it comes will the best news we could ever here: If we follow Jesus, he will be right there beside us.\u00a0 As we go into the world, we stand at the right hand of the one who taught us to love, Jesus of Nazareth.\u00a0 This is good news indeed!<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>What do you think it was about Jesus and his message that led the Greeks to travel so far to see him?<\/li>\n<li>Why does Jesus say that we have to make personal sacrifices in order to carry out God\u2019s mission to us?<\/li>\n<li>How can Jesus\u2019 words in this passage offer us strength?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Activity Suggestions<\/h3>\n<p>Create movie-style posters that show the people of God doing the work that Jesus called us to do.\u00a0 Put NOW PLAYING or COMING SOON at the bottom, and explain your poster to the group.\u00a0 Display these posters prominently in your church!<\/p>\n<h3>Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n<p>God our Father, we thank you for the many gifts you have given us; especially do we thank you \u00a0for sending your son to invite us into your kingdom.\u00a0 Watch over and guide us this week.\u00a0 Most of all, Father, prepare us at all times to represent your love and grace to those around us.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name we pray, Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL &nbsp; Warm-up Question Have you ever been one of the first to purchase a brand new product; \u00a0have you watched a TV show or movie before it was officially released?\u00a0 What excited you? Shiny and New! There is just something about Apple products, isn\u2019t there?\u00a0 Whenever a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[573,492,4991,397,544,512,358,331],"class_list":["post-3534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-death","tag-follow","tag-iphone","tag-obedience","tag-sacrifice","tag-serve","tag-service","tag-witness"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>March 25, 2012, Shiny and New! - Faith Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/3534\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"March 25, 2012, Shiny and New! - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contributed by David Dodson, Fort Walton Beach, FL &nbsp; Warm-up Question Have you ever been one of the first to purchase a brand new product; \u00a0have you watched a TV show or movie before it was officially released?\u00a0 What excited you? 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